When the day winds down and theaters close during FLEFF week, the fun is not over. In fact, according to London McDaniel, it has just begun.

McDaniel, Promoter and Music Manager for Delilah’s on Cayuga, has arranged for several after parties to take place at the venue.

“I thought that it was a perfect, perfect combination,” McDaniel said. “One of the things about FLEFF which is fantastic is the quality of content. All I want to know is about content. But unfortunately, because I lived in Los Angeles for so long, I have a sense of flash as well. I’m about content but I’m very familiar with flare.”

He says content and pizzaz are both essential to a successful film festival. He hopes to bring the two together.

“It doesn’t matter how much you want to be earthy and how much you want to be grounded, the reality is all the film festivals that are having high revenue turnover are having it because they have great quality but they also have a lot of media attention. They are the place to be-- people want to come there, they want to party there, they plan their years around it.”

Not only does McDaniel work for Delilah’s, he is a lifelong musician himself. He got involved with Delilah’s (known as the Wild Fire at the time) as a performer and later took over as programmer. He says his job is to bring the community music he knows they are going to love.

“Delilah's has a very comfortable environment and low-key atmosphere,” he said, “and at the same time there’s a distinctive aspect about it. Like if you are in Manhattan and you go to the Knitting Factory or the Blue Note or the Sweet Basil. These types of clubs have a specific atmosphere which are very conducive to being really entertained.”

He argues that there is no place like Delilah’s in Ithaca.

“It’s different from any other venue because there’s no other venue in town where it’s high, high quality entertainment, a fantastic restaurant and a wonderful place to see the music,” he said. “Every other place to see music in this town, other than The Haunt, is a bar.”

He studied music at a conservatory in his hometown of Seattle, Washington before completing his studies at the Berkeley College of Music. He has taught in the Music Department at Cornell and performed around the world.

“I play a number of instruments. I play kettle steel guitar, steel guitar, banjo, and upright base. I play a lot of guitar. And I play many different styles-- jazz, bluegrass.”

McDaniel also does production work and has written music for hip hop artists that have “gone platinum.” One of his pieces was picked up by the very popular P-Diddy.

However, he has found that music is becoming antiquated-- a throwback to another time. Through his work, he aims to bring live music back into peoples lives.

“Sometimes in the pursuit of technology and progress we lose the beauty and the simplicity of what moves our souls,” McDaniel said.

Although details of the FLEFF after parties remain a secret, he reveals that each night will feature a different theme, several artists performing, and a DJ to end the night. He guarantees a variety of music and a good time.

“It’s not a question of why should they come to the after parties, it’s a question of it’s going to be the most happening thing in town,” he said. “If you don’t want to be there-- you want to be a lump on a log-- you’re welcome to do that. I’m not trying to get in the way of anybody and their movie night on the couch. If you want to do something with your life and experience live entertainment, that’s what’s going to be happening at Delilah’s club.”

Keep an eye out for more information about the FLEFF after parties at Delilah’s!